Welcome to the Michigan FBody Association website.
The Michigan FBody Association is a centralized website for FBody enthusiasts to discuss what's going on in the Michigan area. MiFbody.com was created to allow for an easy one-stop place to find out what's going on in Michigan as far as FBody events, to find out what clubs are available in your immediate area, and for an easy place to post classifieds for items you want to sell! Our goal was to create a more close-knit community of FBody enthusiasts in the state of Michigan, and to bring Camaro and Firebird enthusiasts alike together for some amazing FBody events!
The most important thing to know about the Michigan FBody Association is that we are NOT a club! The Michigan FBody Association is open to everyone, and is a community. Thus, we will have get togethers, casual cruises, events, and such like that, but this is not an exclusive club and it's 100% free to join this site! So what are you waiting for? Register now!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us!
I am thinking out some ideas for a cruise around the thumb (Lighthouse cruise) for those interested. Just trying to get an idea on how many people would like to do an event like this?
My car club does a Fall Color tour every year. We've gone up through the thumb and followed it around the lakes edge a couple times. I'm in and I can give you some help coordinating it if you want. I can't speak for them, but I'm betting a few of my members with Birds might be in for this too.
Great it sounds like we have a good amount of interest. I will start putting something together. Time to do some research...
What month would be best for most people? I an thinking August at earliest or October at the latest. June is too early, July is too busy with other events, I am getting married in September.
Any special events going on either month in that area that we could piggy back off of?
Here is an idea...
Frankenmuth Summer Music Fest August 9-13, 2011 Located in the Harvey Kern Pavilion in Heritage Park on Weiss Street. A celebration of music. Polka, Polish, German & Solvenian ethnic style music. Food, drinks and dancing on a wooden floor.
(800) FUN-FEST
Crabby Clam and Lobster Fest October 7 & 8, 2011
A benefit for WHNN Johnny Burke's Children's Foundation featuring king crab, clam and lobster dinners, BBQ chicken and a variety of beverages. Free admission & live entertainment. Located at Frankenmuth River Place.
(989) 776-2100
Saginaw - Bay City - Bad Axe - Frankenmuth
1. Bay City Recreation Area & Visitors Center
3582 State Park Drive
Bay City, MI 48706
Reservations: (800)447-2757
Phone: (989)684-3020
The Saginaw Bay Recreation Area is located on the shores of the Saginaw Bay. The park area includes over 2,000 acres of land featuring wooded wetlands, marsh ponds, gentle dune ridges and mile of shoreline. Recreational opportunities include swimming, picnicking, camping, hiking, fishing and bicycling. 193 electric-service sites, modern toilet/shower buildings, sanitary dump station, mini-cabins, organizational camp, amphitheater and playground. The Center featuring a hands-on museum, watershed exhibit and comfortable observation room for indoor bird watching. Nationally recognized as a birding "hot spot" throughout the year, birding is particularly spectacular during the spring and fall migratory seasons. Explore on your own or call ahead for a guide. now booking naturalist-guided field trips for school groups in the region. The programs are designed to teach and reinforce learning objectives in Michigan's Grade Level Content Expectations for Science and Social Studies, while offering children a chance to learn more about nature. Teachers may select from 32 different age-appropriate field trips options or may arrange for a customized experience to fit their students' needs. All programs are free. Metal detecting area.
Open each Saturday and Sunday until November 1st. Depner Farms is Michigan's HOTTEST NEW FALL FAMILY ATTRACTION! Come on down to the farm for more family fun in the country than you can shake a stick at. Corn maze, pumpkins, hay rides, concessions, mini-maze, kids activities and a whole lot more! Open weekends during the Fall season. For details, visit our website at DepnerFarms.com "Yee-Ha!!"
3. Sleeper State Park
6573 State Park Road
Caseville, MI 48725-9799
Reservations: (800)447-2757
Phone: (989)856-4411
Fax: (989)856-3590
TDD: (517)335-4623
Over 700 acres with a half mile of sandy beach on beautiful Saginaw Bay. Modern campsites and a mini-cabin. Beach house, grills and picnic tables or rent the pavilion. More than four miles of maintained trails are available to those who wish to hike or ski. Nearby boating, fishing and Rush Lake State Game Area. Camping April through October.
4. Port Crescent State Park
1775 Port Austin Road
Port Austin, MI 48467
Toll Free: (800) 447-2757
Phone: (989) 738-8663
Fax: (989) 738-6063
Located at the tip of Michigan's "thumb" along three miles of sandy shoreline of the Saginaw Bay. 565 acres of woods, offer excellent hunting opportunities, wet lands and the best sand dunes and beaches on the eastern side of the state. An accessible fishing deck, and seven miles of trails through various areas of the park for cross-country skiing. Some of the 137 modern campsites offer a waterfront view, either of Lake Huron or the Pinnebog River. A 900-foot boardwalk and five picnic decks offer scenic vistas from the top of sand dunes in the day-use area. Rustic organization camp for youth.
5. Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse and Museum
7320 Lighthouse Road
PO Box 97
Port Hope, MI 48468
Phone: (989)428-3035
Fax: (989)856-4505
One of the few lighthouses that are still in operation today on the Great Lakes. It was built in 1857 under President Polk's orders to guard ships from some of the most treacherous shoals in the Great Lakes. The lighthouse is 89 feet tall with 103 cast iron steps to the top. It is owned and operated by the U.S. Coast Guard and was automated in 1957. The lighthouse has a flashing white light that shines 18 miles out over Lake Huron. It is a warning that the area contains shallow waters that can be a hazard, and it also marks the entrance into Saginaw Bay. The keeper's residence is now a museum. Tours are available Memorial Day until end of September. Call to set up your tour.
6. Harbor Beach Light
View from Waterworks Park & Harbor Beach
Harbor Beach, MI 48441
Phone: (989)479-3321
The Harbor Beach Lighthouse is located at the end of the north breakwater entrance to the harbor of refuge, created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, protecting the harbor of Harbor Beach. Located on the Thumb on Lake Huron, the Harbor Beach lighthouse has been guiding mariners along the shore and into the former "world''s greatest man made harbor" for over 125 years. The lighthouse has been completely restored, and will offer tours beginning the summer of 2011, scheduled on weekend mid-afternoons, and by appointment for groups during the week.
7. Millington Antiques, Inc.
8549 State Street
Millington, MI 48746
Phone: (989)871-4597
Best little "Antique Village" in the "Thumb". Open Monday - Sunday 10 am - 5 pm with over 40 dealers of antiques and collectibles. Find everything you need in one huge, unique mall.
8. Frankenmuth River Place
925 S. Main Street
Suite D-2
Frankenmuth, MI 48734
Toll Free: (800)600-0105
Frankenmuth River Place features over 30 specialty shops, attractions and fun areas. Catch a ride on the Bavarian Belle Riverboat to take a cruise on the Cass River. Enjoy nightly laser light shows.
9. Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland
25 Christmas Lane
Frankenmuth, MI 48734
Toll Free: (800)255-9327
Phone: (989)652-9931
The world's largest Christmas store with over 90,000 square ft of newly expanded shopper's dream! Bigger than 1 1/2 football fields in size featuring over 50,000 trims, gifts, and collectibles. Fun for all ages, outdoor decorations illuminated nightly. Open 361 days a year.
10. Bavarian Inn Restaurant
713 S. Main Street
Frankenmuth, MI 48734
Toll Free: (800)228-2742
Phone: (989)652-9941
Fax: (989)652-3481
Full service family dining established in 1888 with it's 12 unique dining rooms, seating 1200. World famous chicken dinners plus German entrees, steaks, lighter fare, sandwiches, desserts, specialty shopping, lower level Castle Shops.
A Michigan Wine Restaurant serving a selection of Michigan wines.
11. Zehnder's of Frankenmuth
730 South Main Street
Frankenmuth, MI 48734
Toll Free: (800) 863-7999
Phone: (989) 652-0400
Fax: (989) 652-3544
America's largest family restaurant serves approximately one million guests per year with old world hospitality. Ten dining rooms that seat more than 1500 guests, Zehnder's offers a full service menu that features all-you-can-eat family style chicken dinners, seafood, steaks, fresh baked goods and European desserts. Play a round of golf at The Fortress, our 18-hole championship golf course and stay at our Zehnder's Splash Village Hotel and Waterpark. Stop by our Market place featuring Zbakery, Zgiftshop and Zchefs cafe.
12. Johnson's Giant Pumpkins
4715 N. Portsmouth Road
Saginaw, MI 48601
Phone: (989) 752-3133
See over 250 pumpkins on display, enjoy a 3-acre corn maze, wood carvers, gift, face painting, fall displays while munching on fresh farm donuts. Pick your own pumpkin during our fall season (open September 15-October 31). We also offer several seasonal events-great for "kids" of all ages! Visit our gift shop which offers crafts, delicious food items and decorations.
13. Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge
6975 Mower Road
Saginaw, MI 48601
TTY: (800)649-3777
Phone: (989)777-5930
Fax: (989)777-9200
Over 9,400 acres of bottomland-hardwood forests, marshes, pools, grasslands and croplands attract a variety of wildlife, migratory fowl, shorebirds and songbirds. 12 miles of trails popular with mountain bikers, hikers and cross-country skiers. Hunting, fishing and boating. Environmental education and photography. Wildlife observation tower and platforms with spotting scopes, give you close-up views of bald eagles and white-tail deer.
14. Japanese Cultural Center and Tea House
527 Ezra Rust Drive
at Washington Avenue
Saginaw, MI 48601
Phone: (989)759-1648
Fax: (989)759-1618
One of a very few authentic Japanese teahouses in the United States. The Tea House was built in 1985-86 as as a symbol of friendship and cultural exchange with Saginaw's Sister City, Tokushima, Japan. Tea ceremony is the 2nd Saturday of each month. Groups of 10 or more by reservations for a private tour w/ tea, sweets or the Tea Ceremony.
The breathtaking splendor of Lake Huron awaits you on this "thumb" area color tour! Other highlights include: Frankenmuth, Saginaw, state parks, farm markets and antique shops.
Best Enjoyed: Early to Mid-October
Approximate Length: 230 miles
Before leaving Bay City, spend time at the Bay City Recreation Area, home to one of the largest remaining freshwater, coastal wetlands on the Great Lakes. The park has long been known for its outstanding variety of bird life and is an ideal staging area for migratory birds. Other activities include biking, hiking and an interactive visitor center.
Follow M-25 east out of Bay City to Sebewaing. At this point M-25 will run along the edge of the thumb along the Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron. Be sure to "get lost" at the corn maze and pick up a pumpkin at Depner Farms near Caseville. Sleeper State Park is another opportunity to enjoy the outdoors with a half mile of sandy beach along Saginaw Bay and four miles of hiking and mountain biking trails.
Continue east on M-25 to Port Austin at the tip of the "thumb". Port Crescent State Park includes three miles of sandy shoreline of Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay and additional opportunities to hike and bike. Continuing on M-25 you will find the Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse and Museum, one of the few remaining operational lighthouses on the Great Lakes.
Follow M-25 into Harbor Beach, the site of the Harbor Beach Breakwater Light. Take M-142 west out of Harbor Beach to Bad Axe, then M-81 south to Cass City and Caro. At Caro, follow M-24 south to County Road 39. Take a right heading east to M-15.
Turn right on M-15, north to Millington. Browse the Millington Antique Co-op Mall featuring over 40 dealers of antiques and collectables. Continue north on M-15 to Vassar. Follow Frankenmuth Road SW out of Vasser to Frankenmuth, Michigan's Little Bavaria. Suggested stops in Frankenmuth include:
Frankenmuth River Place
Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland
Bavarian Inn Restaurant
Zehnder's of Frankenmuth
Follow M-83 north out of Frankenmuth to M-81. Turn left, heading east into Saginaw. Saginaw highlights include:
Johnson's Giant Pumpkins
Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge
Japanese Cultural Center and Tea House
To complete your tour, take M-13 north back to Bay City.
Last edited by phoenix_rising; May 19th, 2011, 01:11 PM.
Id be interested in a cruise up there Ive got family that has a cottage in caseville would give me a reasion to stop in.
Cool. Maybe you can ask them about when the best weekends to be up that way are in August or October? When the trees start changing, weather, special events? Thanks!
if you really want to do it when the leaves are changing, best plan for no earlier than the 1st or 2nd weekend in october . . . unless you want to go farther north than the thumb. Michelle and I do a fall color trip most years, so we've gotten pretty good at figuring out the right weekends for fall color. Last weekend of September they are in full color near the bridge, maybe as far south as Traverse City, but usually it takes another one to two weeks to make it down to the Saginaw area.
sigpic
Stock 1998 T/A, original owner
17 years and 18,664 miles . . . still lovin' it
Tweet
I have several other car tours planned for this summer, but I'd be interested
Frankenmuth River Place
Comment